Truman approves CIA precursor, Jan. 22, 1946

On this day in 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed an 800-word document entitled Directive on Coordination of Foreign Intelligence Activities that became the precursor of today’s Central Intelligence Agency.

According to an internal history of the CIA by Thomas Troy that was declassified in 1993, Truman’s approach, which marked “his third major step in intelligence” was “approved by the press and public, which deemed the best intelligence possible a necessity for national survival.”

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“That included espionage,” Troy added. “Time [magazine] approvingly observed that the president ‘had put the U.S. in the business of international espionage. Almost alone as a dissenter was [Commerce Secretary and former Vice President] Henry Wallace, who thought spying ‘hellish.’ Truman was pleased with what he had accomplished. He also thought the problem of intelligence was solved.”

Truman’s order directed the secretaries of State, War and the Navy, to be joined by his own representative, to form a National Intelligence Authority, to be assisted by a Central Intelligence Group.

The order stated that “no police, law enforcement or internal security functions shall be exercised under this directive.” It also stated that “nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the making of investigations inside the continental limits of the United States and its possessions, except as provided by law and presidential directives.”

Troy observed that the order created “literally nothing more than an interdepartmental committee subsisting on handouts of money, people, and facilities from three departments which — capriciously or otherwise — could withdraw their sustaining support at any moment.”

As those shortcomings became apparent, Truman asked Congress to approve a fully functional intelligence office. That goal came about when Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 establishing the CIA. It charged the agency with coordinating the nation’s intelligence activities and correlating, evaluating and disseminating intelligence affecting national security.